[Valerians and Heliotropes: The Genus Valeriana East of the Cascade
Mts. of Oregon and Washington]
Mountain Heliotrope, Sitka Valerian
Valeriana sitchensis
Synonyms: Valerianella sitchensis, Valeriana sitchensis var. hookeri, Valeriana sitchensis var. sitchensis
The photo above shows a close-up of the inflorescence of Sitka valerian as seen on a small side road veering east off of the King Mt. Rd #200, immediately prior to reaching the Yakama Tract D Boundary........May 28, 2005. Note the toothed margins of the leaflets.
Characteristics:
Mountain heliotrope is a beautiful wildflower for the moist
woodland or meadow garden. It is a fibrous-rooted perennial from a thick, branched
rhizome with one or more stems from 30-120 cm tall. The herbage is usually smooth,
although occasionally short-hairy. The 2-5 pairs of leaves are mainly found
on the stems. The leaves are opposite on the stems, and each is compound pinnate,
with 1-4 pairs of lobes below the large terminal leaflet (See photo below.).
The petioles are long and thin. The lower leaves are reduced in size, while
the upper are much larger. The leaves range from 10-20 cm long. The terminal
leaflet is obovate and up to 10 cm long and 7 cm wide. The lower pairs of lobes
are often at least 1 cm wide. The leaflet margins are strongly wavy, scalloped,
or with large, rounded teeth.
The inflorescence is compact, ranging from 2.5-8 cm wide. The
flowers are perfect, with white corollas from 4.5-7 mm long, and the lobes less
than half as long as the tube. The stamens are well exserted from the mouth
of the corolla.
Mountain heliotrope is palatable to sheep, deer, and elk. The
roots are foul smelling and tasting.
Habitat:
Mountain heliotrope is a plant of open to wooded places, especially
cool, wet meadows at middle and upper altitudes in the mountains.
Range:
Mountain heliotrope may be found from southern Alaska and the
southern Yukon south to northern California and east to western Montana and
central Idaho. It is evidently not found in the coast range of Oregon nor in
the lowlands of the Puget trough and Willamette Valley as it is replaced by
Scouler's heliotrope
in these areas.
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Mountain heliotrope blooming along the Line Butte Trail #807 on the southern slopes of Lookout Mountain, Ochoco National Forest.........June 22, 2017.
Mountain heliotrope blooming at Teal Springs Campground, Umatilla National Forest........June 16, 2023.
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The photo at left shows sitka valerian as seen along Road #4670 at Billy Meadows Guard Station in the northern Wallowa-Whitman N.F..........June 26, 2008. Piper's anemone can be seen in bloom at left. The photo at right shows mountain heliotrope blooming in a moist spot along the Roads End Trail, Strawberry Mountain Wilderness.........August 3, 2011.
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These 2 photos show close-up views of the inflorescence of sitka valerian as seen along Road #4670 at Billy Meadows Guard Station in the northern Wallowa-Whitman N.F.........June 26, 2008.
The photo above shows the pinnately compond leaves of mid stem of mountain heliotrope. Note again the toothed leaflet margins.
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Mountain heliotrope as seen at along Forest Service Road #3517, Wenatchee National Forest.............July 6, 2012.
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Additional close-up photos of mountain heliotrope as seen along Forest Service Road #2230 on Mount Pisgah, Ochoco National Forest.........June 13, 2015.
Paul Slichter
